


Nurture

by TheGrimLlama



Series: supercorp trash team compilation [15]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AND A MOTHER WHO LOVES HER, GIVE LENA A HUG
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 03:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12049908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGrimLlama/pseuds/TheGrimLlama
Summary: As a child, Lena had often imagined what it was like to have a caring mother, a mother who would braid her hair and talk about boys, or girls, and actually acknowledge Lena as a person rather than a walking publicity stunt.  After days like today, those thoughts and feelings came back in full force, often leaving Lena crying over a lost childhood, and lack of familial relationships.or the one where Lena and Eliza bond, because Lena deserves a mom who loves her





	Nurture

Kara and Lena had been friends for nearly three months when they’d swapped keys in case of emergency.  It had been a random occurrence, one that happened as they were walking past a key cutting booth at the mall after Kara had spotted a super themed house key.  Lena had missed the joke at the time, but a few months later, she laughed when she realised how blind she’d been.  

 

Almost twelve months later and the idea of what constitutes an emergency had skewed somewhat.  Now, it was less  _ I-think-I’ve-left-my-stove-on _ and more  _ I’ve-had-a-really-shitty-day _ .  More often than not on Lena’s part, it was turning up in Kara’s apartment with a tired expression and the urge to cry herself to sleep, curled up on her best friend.  While Kara’s idea of an emergency was, more frequently, Lena “forgetting” to text back good morning (or more than likely, falling back asleep).

 

Some days were worse than others.  Days when Lex and Lillian had letters, packages, warnings sent to Lena’s office.  Days when Kara had spent all day/night supering and watching DEO agents get hurt on the job, and just needing to see that Lena was okay.

 

They were now at that point in their friendship where there were days when either would turn up at the others apartment only to find that they had both had the same idea. 

It wouldn’t matter if one was home or not.  The other would just curl up on the couch and wait. 

Their apartments so perfectly blended that it didn’t matter if they fell asleep mid movie marathon.  Lena had a drawer in Kara’s bedroom, and there was a small mixture of pastel and floaty fabrics amongst the bold business suits and sharp lines of Lena’s wardrobe. 

 

It was a well known occurrence throughout their friend and family group.  So when Eliza Danvers arrived at Kara’s apartment, intent on cooking her youngest daughter a very large meal, she was less than shocked to see that there was a certain elegance to the new additions around the dwelling.  The magenta coat hanging off the stool in the dining area looked like it was probably worth more than the monthly rent. 

 

Eliza certainly wasn’t surprised when the door to Kara’s apartment opened, revealing a very tired looking Lena.  She turned away from the stove, turning the heat down to simmer before Lena noticed that there was someone else in the apartment.  

 

They’d met once before, at a dinner that Alex had organised.  One where Lena had spent nearly the whole day baking, just so she could contribute something to the table.  Eliza had laughed when Kara called around midday complaining that Lena was ignoring her for “ _ a stupid pie filling” _ .  Her youngest daughter was completely smitten, no matter what either of them said.  

Eliza was genuinely waiting for Kara to call with an updated relationship status.  

 

She watched Lena shuck of her coat, and hang it, toeing off each of her ridiculously expensive shoes, and sliding them into the shoe rack beside a pair of jimmy choo’s that probably cost two weeks of Kara’s CatCo salary.  Eliza had spent hours listening to Kara gush about how adorable Lena was sans heels and honestly, it was justifiable. 

 

Lena turned towards the kitchen, probably noticing the smell of the spices mingling with the scent of Kara’s apartment.  Kara didn’t cook, so the suspicious expression on Lena’s face was called for.  

 

Rather than the polite smile and embarrassed greeting that Eliza was expecting, (considering Lena probably didn’t realise that Eliza was in town, let alone in Kara’s apartment), Lena’s face fell.  Her shoulders heaved, a sob breaking the silence.  

 

Eliza was out of the kitchen and pulling Lena into a hug before either of them had even considered the situation.  This was new.  Eliza knew Lena had her bad days.  Kara would often call, asking for advice, or sometimes just to vent about Lena’s circumstances to a third party.  But actually seeing the composed CEO break down in the hallway filled Eliza with that motherly urge to destroy whoever hurt this poor girl.  She stood for a while, letting Lena cry into her shirt until she managed to catch her breath.  

 “How about you go and have a shower and change into some of Kara’s pjs.  I’ll make us some tea and you can tell me everything, or nothing.  Whatever you’re comfortable with, okay?”

 

Lena sniffed, nodding her head before disappearing into Kara’s ensuite.

 

If Kara didn’t get to whoever left Lena in this state first, Eliza swore that she’d make their lives miserable.  No one made any of her girls cry and got away with it.  

 

***

 

Lena’s day had been the worst she’d had in a long while.  It had started with a quarterly update with her shareholders, one of whom continuously riled her up, asking about Lex’s disbanded projects and pulling random numbers and undocumented results from some pretty shady sources.  It had taken nearly eight minutes of listening to all nine of the men in the room shouting before Lena stood, walking over to the pitcher of water on the side table near the balcony door.  The yelling trickled down, when the shareholders realised that Lena wasn’t actually listening.  

She’d called them out on their childish behaviour, which had started another round of raised voices. 

 

Barely an hour later, Lena received a letter from her mother, calling her a failure, reminding her that Lillian always regarded Lex as the better, more accomplished child.  Lena had turned the letter over to Alex, since Kara was currently still chasing down a rogue alien that was determined to flatten town square.  

 

By the time Alex left, the clock on Lena’s phone read two pm and she was done.  She could feel the migraine building behind her eyes and all she wanted to do was curl up on the couch and cry.  

 

 “Jess, can you reschedule my three pm with marketing?  You can take the afternoon off.”

 “Yes, Ms Luthor,” came the reply through the intercom.  

Lena packed away her desk, and soon enough found herself on the stoop of Kara’s apartment building, thankful that Jess was efficient enough to have her driver out front of L-Corp before she’d even left the office. 

 

It was almost subconscious, the way Lena walked up the stairs.  She could probably make it to Kara’s door blindfolded.  Even the sight of the ridiculous Supergirl key, neatly tucked in her keysmart, failed to bring a smile to her face.  If anything, it made her feel worse, it was a reminder that Kara was on the other side of the city, probably being thrown around by someone twice her size and half as smart. 

 

The door swung open easily, Lena quickly went through the motions of removing her coat and shoes, before she realised that she definitely wasn’t alone.  

 

She turned, half expecting Alex or Maggie with take out bags.  That she could’ve handled.  However, the universe was rarely light on Lena Luthor.  She took in the comforting smile that Eliza Danvers was directing at her, and the entire day (hell, entire week) worth of stress bubbled to the surface in the form of a loud sob.  

 

She was pretty sure Eliza had superspeed.  That was the only way that Lena could fathom how quickly the woman’s arms were around her.  She cried into Eliza’s shoulder, not even embarrassed by her ridiculous display of emotion. 

 

It took a few minutes for Lena’s breathing to even out enough for Eliza to loosen her arms slightly,   “How about you go and have a shower and change into some of Kara’s pjs.  I’ll make us some tea and you can tell me everything, or nothing.  Whatever you’re comfortable with, okay?”

 

A shower and Kara’s clothes sounded perfect.  

 

***

 

As a child, Lena had often imagined what it was like to have a caring mother, a mother who would braid her hair and talk about boys, or girls, and actually acknowledge Lena as a person rather than a walking publicity stunt.  After days like today, those thoughts and feelings came back in full force, often leaving Lena crying over a lost childhood, and lack of familial relationships.  On those days, Kara would wrap her up in the knitted throw that Alex had gifted them last Christmas as a gag gift (the gag being  _ them, _ and not the blanket).  

Lena picked out her favourite pair of batman sweatpants and her college jersey with the name DANVERS across the shoulders, and dressed.  Eliza was already seated on the couch, a pot of tea on the coffee table beside a plate of cookies.  Lena dropped on the couch, letting Eliza pull her over, until Lena’s head was resting on Eliza’s lap.  

 

She had every intention of talking.  Lena thought that if she had an outsider input, maybe, just maybe, she’d get over the pain her mother had caused her.  Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the slow strokes of Eliza’s fingers through Lena’s hair to lull her to sleep. 

 

And that’s where kara found them four hours later.  Her suit still smelling like old driftwood and smoke.  She smiled warmly at the scene in front of her, and was determined to make sure that Lena never felt unloved again.  It certainly helped that Eliza had already made that same decision.

**Author's Note:**

> Come and scream at me on tumblr @thegrimllama


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